Power dipper construction



Nov. 22, 1955 E. J. CHARLTON ET AL 2,724,513

POWER DIPPER CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 29, 1950 INVE TORES Nov. 22, 1955 E. J. CHARLTON ETAL 2,724,518

POWER DIPPER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTO R N EY$ Nov. 22, 1955 E. J. CHARLTON ETAL 2,724,513

POWER DIPPER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTCORSi BY ATTORNEYS Nov. 22, 1955 E. J. CHARLTON ETAL 2,

POWER DIPPER CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 29, 1950 will briefly mention several.

2,724,518 POWER DIPPER CONSTRUCTION Edward J. Charlton, Coatesville, and Leonard Pompa,

Philadelphia, Pa.

Application July 29, 1950, Serial No. 1%,656 '1 Claims. (Cl. 214 145 This invention relates to power dipper construction and particularly to dippers of exceptional size and strength, for use on very large material-handling machines, such, for example, as are employed in the strip mining of coal. In that field of operation, it is customary to use large power shovels, operated by electric motors or diesel engines, in stripping away the surface layers of earth in order to lay bare the underlying layers of coal. This involves moving large quantities of earth for short distances, and for this purpose, shovels of large cubic yardage are desirable, and heretofore it has been the practice to use shovels of 7-yard, 12-yard, and even 20- or 30-yard capacity; although the larger of these machines have been subject to frequent failure of one part or another of the dipper structure, owing to the immense forces set up during the digging and lifting operations.

While various features of the present invention are doubtless advantageous in dippers of smaller sizes, it is amajor purpose of the present invention to provide an exceptionally strong and rugged dipper construction, of a minimum weight for its capacity and strength, especially useful in immense dipper sizes, such as 40 or 50 cubic yard capacity, or even larger-adapted for use in the particular service hereinabove described.

In carrying this general object into efi ect, We have also kept in view a number of other objects, among which we For example: It is an object of the invention to improve and render less expensive the manufacture of large-size dippers, by providing an unusual design of dipperwhich is especially adapted for construction from high-strength rolled steel plate, so chosen, formed, and arranged in the dipper structure, that the assembly may be largely if not entirely welded, by desirable and established welding procedures, into a unified, rigid, integral whole. It is a further object to provide such a dipper of such form that the necessary strength of the various parts of the dipper and of the United States Patent dipper as a whole may be secured from plate material involving the least possible complication of bending or other formingutilizing, wherever feasible, standard and/or very simple forms of flat, bent, curved, and channeled pieces. It is a further object to so form and position these pieces that a minimum of material (as to weight) is utilized in securing a maximum of strength, and that the welded joints employed in assembling and unifying the various pieces are of such joint types and are so located that they will be least subject to fatigue and other failures.

Still further, the invention contemplates the securing of the foregoing objects by or in a construction wherein lightening apertures are used for other purposes, such as for access to internal welds and for access to operating parts housed within the structure. Further in this regard, the invention contemplates the formation of certain hollow structural assemblies or sub-assemblies in such manner as to serve advantageously for housing, positioning, guiding and protecting various working parts of the dipper mechanism.

designated L.

ice

In regard to the preferred form of assembly and securing of the parts constituting the dipper, which is for the most part of welded construction, the invention also contemplates the disposition of pivot assemblies for the dipper and bail, and also the construction and location of the mountings therefor, and the disposition and configuration of the bracing structures (especially of certain triangulated braces), in such manner that all these parts cooperate to secure the maximum strength with the minimum weight, and to gain the greatest advantage in the way of protection of the working parts of the mechanism.

In carrying out all of the foregoing, the invention further involves the use of a minimum of forged and other specially configured parts, the elimination of most if not all of the riveting frequently found in dippers, and the formation and assembling, of such special parts as are employed, in such manner that they may be welded into the assembly or various sub-assemblies of the dipper at points where the welds will be least likely to be ruptured in service and also where they may be easily machined and readily inspected; and in this regard also the construction makes possible the use of easy lines of curvature of the structural parts, between or adjacent to welded connections.

How the foregoing, together with such other objects as are incident to our invention, may be secured will be evident to those skilled in the art, from the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawmgs, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the left side of a power dipper, omitting most of the dipper handle and haul, with portions broken away and others shown in section; the front portion of the dipper bucket being at the bottom of this figure, as though the bucket were resting on the ground in position to dig into a massof material.

Figure 2 is a view of the dipper, partly in section, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view taken on the section line 3-3 of Figure 1, showing the digging teeth in relation to the lip of the bucket.

Figure 4 is an end-0n view of the lip and tooth arrangement of Figure 3. t

Figure 5 is a section taken through the front portion of the bucket on the line 55 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a section through the front portion of the bucket, near the bottom thereof, taken on the line 66 of Figure 1. t

Figure 7 is an outside bucket omitting the teeth the dipper door.

By reference first to Figures 1 and 2 it will be observed that the power dipper of the present invention comprises, in a broad way, a bucket generally designated B, a handle (shown In part) generally designated H, an intermediate portion generally designated 1, a dipper door generally designated D, and a lifting bail (shown in part) generally view of the digging wall of the at the digging edge, and omitting As is clear from the drawings, congtiutes hollow box-like structur em 0 ment of the invention it is com osed almos of high-strength rolled steel plate elem ents welded tz g dtli ei in a new and especially advantageous relationship. Similarly, the intermediate section I (which forms the attachment for the handle and is in turn secured to the back edges of the bucket and has front wall construction which serves also as the back wall construction of the bucket) is a hollow box-like structure of steel plate welded together Novel and advantageous features are also involved in the hollow box-like bracing structures at the front of the bucket portion B.

'ljhe bucket B, which is of the digging scoop type, is entirely open at the top and has its bottom closed by the the bucket portion B e,. and in the preferred is welded at 64 to the intermediate structure I. An external V-shaped structure brace 65 completes the juncture of the parts at this region. The side plates 62 of the lower portion of the dipper handle may be flared outwardly as shown in plan in Figure 2. The V-structure 65 is a deflector to keep any over-load of rocks or dirt from running down the dipper handle (when lifted) and causing damage to the machine or injury to the operator; but at the sametime it is so positioned as to serve as an external brace at the juncture of the dipper handle with the portion I of the dipper. The remainder of the dipper handle construction will be described after the description of the construction of the dipper door D and the lifting bail L.

The door D is shown in position on the dipper in Figure 1. The door comprises a heavy inner wall 66 of steel plate (serving as a compression member when the dipper is loaded), a relatively lighter outer wall 67 of plate, which may be very largely cut away with lightening and access apertures (not shown), and intermediate structure (not shown) between the walls. The door has a hinge construction and associated parts indicated by 59, and is connected with shock absorber mechanism 48. Within the door is disposed latch bar 84 (Figure 1) to gether with its operating mechanism generally indicated at 85.

In summary, it may now be seen that we have provided by our invention a power dipper of exceptional strength and capacity for a given weight, having the capability of long life in hard service without frequent failures of welds or other parts of the structure; and have accomplished this by a considerable number of coordinated features of construction, configuration and relationship which are quite novel in this art, the advantages of which will be readily recognized by those experienced in this field.

We claim:

1. For a dipper of the character described, a main bucket body comprising relatively thick rolled plate side wall structural members and a dipper lip member, and relatively thinner rolled plate front and back wall members, all fixedly joined in an integral construction wherein there are built-up hollow box-like reinforcing structures of relatively thin rolled plate welded to said front and rear walls exteriorly thereof, the structure welded to one of said walls comprising transversely extending hollow box-like members and, between said members, vertically extending hollow strengthening members.

2. A power dipper bucket comprising: a back portion including an inner and an outer Wall, intermediate bracing between said walls, the inner wall substantially defining the back load-handling surface of the bucket; a

' fining the front load-handling surface of the bucket and grill-like bracing welded to the wall; two side wall portions each comprising a reinforcing frame generally in the form of a truncated triangle with diagonal braces substantially connecting opposite vertices and an inner wall secured to the frame substantially defining a side load handling surface of the bucket; welded joints respectively interconnecting said reinforcing frames with the inner and outer walls of said back portion; a bottom portion comprising a door having a wall substantially defining the bottom load handling surface of the bucket; welded joints interconnecting said frames and the wall of said front portion; and pivotal connections between said door and the intermediate bracing of said back portion.

3. A construction in accordance with claim 2 further including bail connections secured to each frame and disposed toward the top of the bucket and lying along one of said diagonals.

4. A construction in accordance with claim 3 wherein the inner and outer walls of the back portion extend downwardly in a converging manner toward said frames.

5. A construction in accordance with claim 2 wherein each inner wall portion of the respective side walls extends outwardly from its frame toward the bottom of the bucket, the edges thereof being adapted to mate with the wall of said door.

6. A construction in accordance with claim 2 further including a plate of thickness greater than the thickness of a frame disposed near the top of the bucket and extending between said frames, welded joints interconnecting the plate with the frames and with the inner wall of said front portion and a plurality of digging teeth set in seats in said plate and welded thereto.

7. A construction in accordance with claim 6 wherein said plate tilts outwardly toward the front of the bucket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 857,577 Becker June 25, 1907 1,582,577 Crane Apr. 27, 1926 1,813,864 Rauch et a1. July 7, 1931 1,974,458 Hallquist Sept. 25, 1934 1,989,818 Murtaugh Feb. 5, 1935 2,025,090 Burke Dec. 24, 1935 2,034,854 Younie Mar. 24, 1936 2,048,561 Neveling July 21, 1936 2,107,342 Ratkowski Feb. 8, 1938 2,180,348 Daniels Nov. 21, 1939 2,336,729 Harris et a1. Dec. 14, 1943 2,350,762 Huston June 6, 1944 2,427,897 Burdick et a1. Sept. 23, 1947 

